"With the new job about to begin, my mind probably wasn't where it needed to be as a law enforcement officer," Whitfield recalled. "You really need to be present and concentrating on your environment and what's going on around you."

Whitfield's concerns about the things he needed to do to get ready for his new position would soon fade away. With one call from dispatch, Whitfield would instantly snap back to the present.

It was 1:11 p.m. when the call came in. He was sweating from the heat of the day when he heard the call.

"The dispatcher said a woman called to report her mother had overdosed," said Whitfield, remembering the call. "It was in Oxford and I happen to be nearby, just three to five minutes away."

In Izard County, like many other rural counties, it sometimes takes an ambulance quite a long time to reach a location, depending on circumstances. Due to his proximity, Whitfield was the closest help.

Thanks to a donation by the local Mark Martin auto dealers and some recent training, not only was Whitfield in the right place, he had the right tool and the right knowledge to provide critical aid.

The female victim was in the throes of an opioid overdose. Whitfield arrived to find the woman's distraught daughter and her husband pleading for help for the stricken woman.

Whitfield found the victim in a guest bedroom, lying flat on the bed.

"Her eyes were rolled back in her head. She wasn't moving," Whitfield said. "She would take a deep breath, exhale a long time and then nothing would happen for about 25-30 seconds."

Then, the woman would take another deep gulping breath. Part of Whitfield's training included checking to see if a person is simply asleep. Whitfield tried shaking the woman awake, speaking loudly to her.

That didn't work. Whitfield gave the woman a sternum rub, a pain stimulator designed to elicit a response from someone capable. The victim still did not respond.

"She was displaying the symptoms of an opioid overdose we were taught to look for during the training," said Whitfield.

As the training kicked in and he assessed the woman while waiting for the ambulance, the deputy had some fears.

"I thought what if she's not overdosing, what's this Narcan going to do to her," the deputy said. "I thought what happens if the breath she just took was her last breath."

Whitfield held one of the woman's nostrils shut and administered the Narcan in the other nostril. Then, the waiting began.

The woman's daughter was still frantic, asking Whitfield if the Narcan was really going to work. Though it probably felt like forever, Whitfield and the victim's daughter didn't have to wait long.

"In about three to five minutes, she started moving around. I was pretty amazed," Whitfield said of watching the Narcan take effect. "Her breathing started to improve. She wasn't able to talk yet, but she was showing signs of life."